The wind whipped her hair into her eyes and sucked the moisture from her skin but there was something odd about it. She looked at the trees then at the old rag still caught on the clothesline. In the last few weeks the hot wind had always come from the direction of the big machinery shed. This time it was buffeting her from over her back fence, more a south-westerly direction. That was the way the cool changes usually came but there was nothing cool about this wind.

She left Tarzan in the house yard and went to let Spud out of his enclosure. Dirt flew up at her as the young dog did an excited dance at her feet.

“No, Spud,” she said firmly and nudged him away with her knee. He had to learn not to get under her feet. She didn’t want a repeat of her fall of a few days ago. Luckily there had been no harm done except a sore backside and an occasional backache.

She bent to turn on the tap to refill his water container and the pain returned, gradually strengthening its grip across her lower back. She took a deep breath, put her hands on her back and slowly blew out as she straightened.

Thank goodness she was seeing the doctor today. She’d read all the books and the physiotherapist at the birthing class had been very reassuring but perhaps her fall had done some damage to the baby.

The pain gradually eased and she looked across to where Spud was waiting patiently with a stick, a few steps away from her feet.

“Good boy, Spud. You’re getting the idea. Come on, we’d better check the chook water and let the girls out.”

The water containers in the chookyard were also nearly empty. Paula rinsed and refilled them and just as she stooped down to top up the last one, the pain stretched across her back again. She stumbled from the chookyard and stood up slowly, supporting her back with her hands. Perhaps it was her back she’d hurt rather than the baby. That’s what the physio had thought. Her muscles went into spasm each time she bent over.

Spud followed her, carrying the stick in his mouth.

“Sorry, Spud. It’s too hot to play. I’ve got a few jobs to do before I get ready to go to town.”

She cast an eye towards the southern horizon, which was a hazy grey. She prayed that was a cool change forming. Once she was inside, she tackled the housework she’d been putting off for the last few days. Everything was done in a stop-start fashion. The pain across her back came with regular monotony no matter what she did. When it got too strong she would pause and breathe through it. She was just remaking the spare bed that Austin had slept in when the phone rang.